IBM i 6.1 and 7.1 gave us many new commands and functions, including Display Service Tools User ID (DSPSSTUSR), which is very useful and should be part of your regularly scheduled security audits.

Written by Steve Pitcher

System Service Tools (SST) accounts can perform moderate maintenance on your Power Systems and IBM i operating system. You can work with disk configuration and partitions, view the product activity log, and much more. Dedicated Service Tools (DST) require the system to be in manual mode and allow you access to additional functions, such as working with the Licensed Internal Code (LIC). The same accounts are set up to access both SST and DST. Ideally, you want to ensure that these Service Tools accounts are under the watchful eye of your most trusted administrators. Any oddities should be investigated.

IBM i on Power is now ready to be an ideal cloud server once people have prepared themselves to jump into cloud services.

Written by Chris Smith

With COMMON behind us, it's clear that there are four major trends coursing through the industry: mobile, social, cloud, and big data. It's also clear that IBM i is well-positioned to take its rightful place in the center of these emerging trends.

The latest technology refresh for IBM i, to be available May 18, will provide IBM i OS servers with the ability to do live partition mobility. This was the final piece needed in giving the platform the tools to be an awesome cloud server. And from what I can see, the business is in the cloud.

Since 2004, when we published the first edition of PowerTech's popular security study, we've seen many exciting enhancements in the operating system we now call IBM i. Unfortunately, when it comes to changes in the configuration of the server's security controls, the story is much darker.